Monthly Archives: December 2016

Many prison wardens know all about ADA, butdo not enforce it (interpreters, captions,communication devices, etc). Reason isthat they feel deaf prisoners do notdeserve ADA rights because of the crimesthey committed against the society!This was the issue written up in amedia editorial. Despite many lawsuitwins, the attitude may not change.A picture is at:

There are always stories of apps that can capturedeaf-hearing discussions in staff meetingsor even at family reunions. Is it always goingto work? Developers say yes. Well, look atreal time captions, there are always mistakes(that make us laugh or cry). Now, withfast-paced group discussions, captions fallbehind and by the time it is caught up,another hearing person speaks up and so on.And even worse, we need to match the commentwith the person saying it, and this meanshead turning, thus missing more of theconversation!

— the 911 and the internet

In the near future, deaf people, in need ofemergency assistance, will be able to sendvideos to the 911 centers, via the internet.Technology is ready, but the delay isbecause of cost and equipment installationand operator training. Just cannot be doneovernight!

Deaf hairdresser Mildred Brown passed away thisweek in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Sheowned her own hair salon; it was always busy.In 2001, South Carolina legislature passed a billrequiring hairdressers to take all teststo remain licensed. Mildred was unable to passthe written test. As a result, her business closed.Hundreds of angry customers stormed thestate office supporting her. The legislatorsthen revised the laws to allow her to continue.Back in business, she continued till age 80.

An upcoming Deaf Film Festival may possiblybe messed up. It has nothing to do withthese deaf films that were scheduled tobe viewed. Film producers may not attend.Deaf movie fans may not attend – and ithas nothing to do with internationalpolitics – but to with money inflation.They may not want to risk saving moneyfor travel only to find out it is notenough! This is the problem facingthe organizers of the India InternationalDeaf Film festival in Bengaluru.

— a surprising comment about Frederick, MD

Frederick, MD has a large deaf community,possibly the largest in USA – per capitapopulation. Reasons are proximity toMaryland School for the Deaf, GallaudetUniversity and deaf people commuting tojobs in the Washington, DC area. Acomment in a newspaper was surprising –that many hearing people know very littleabout the deaf, of deafness and ofDeaf Culture and ASL. They may pass by a groupof deaf people at malls and at departmentstores but still knowing nothing!

In September 600 deaf people from everywherein Europe attended the Deaf Rally at theEuropean Parliament in Belgium. The goalwas to pass a sign language resolution.How many interpreters were needed, skilledwith different European sign languages,for that rally? Thirty different signlanguage interpreters! This is amazing.

Are students at Gallaudet and NTID always thatnoisy, especially at night – screaming,foot-kicking the dorm doors, etc. This is whatsome hearing undergraduate students havecomplained about – these noisy environments.Think again! There was a story aboutnoise levels pretty much bad at hearingcolleges – more noisy than Gallaudet andNTID. Hard to believe!

— deaf church in Spain

There are many churches in Spain. A few of thesechurches give Mass for the deaf. A newspaperstory said over 20 priests in Spain give theMass in sign language.

At a vacation resort in Madh Island, off theshores of Mumbai, a big attraction is aChristmas Crib. It has been designed andbuilt by Anthony Estibero. He is deafand a long-time resort employee. Everyyear at Christmas time, he works onthe crib – where tourists come to watchin awe. A picture is at:

DeepMind is a British artificial intelligence company.There was a story about this company working with OxfordUniversity to develop a lipreading machine that willhelp improve movie and TV captions. What doeslipreading have to do with movie/TV captions?

— pulling deaf customers into auto dealership

Fox, an auto dealership in Michigan, has a signlanguage general manager. He is the one thatsigns in these TV commercials. Does it help?The dealership says nearly ten deaf customerscome in every month to purchase vehicles.True or a fake claim? Very possibly true!

Deaf historians know about deaf signlanguage used for generations by thedeaf and the hearing at Martha’s Vineyardin Massachusetts. The sign language usedwas not ASL, and this language becameextinct when the last person died in 1950.There is an effort led by two long-timeresidents to revive it. Currently thereare weekly sign language classes ata local library. A picture is at:

A deaf software developer saidher employer refused to hire her. She arguedand won, and got hired for her current job.During the interview she explained that shehas access to a relay service to communicatewith contractors and fellow employees. This“killed” the interview and the employerwouldn’t hire her. The employer was afraidthat confidential information discussed duringthe relay call would violate the privacy issues.She did not file ADA lawsuit, instead, notgiving up and gave strong points about therelay service. The company changed itsmind and hired her!

— Virginia auto dealership cheating the deaf

A deaf man went out and bought a new pickup truck.The truck cost $45,000. That should be it, butinstead the dealership told him he had to buy a$6,300 vehicle protection plan and a $3,000service contract. They told him he had tosign papers even though he really didnot understand what it was all about.The family member was upset, feeling he wascheated. The dealership was confronted,and rather than to get into a lawsuit,cancelled the contract and refunded infull his down payment.